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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-08-2003 PROCEEDINGS OF THE MOUNDS VIEW PLANNING COMMISSION CITY OF MOUNDS VIEW RAMSEY COUNTY, MINNESOTA Regular Meeting January 8, 2003 Mounds View City Hall 2401 Highway 10, Mounds View, MN 55112 ______________________________________________________________________________ 1. Call to Order The meeting was called to order by Chair Stevenson at 7:00 p.m., January 8, 2003. ______________________________________________________________________________ 2. Roll Call Members Present: Commissioners Stevenson, Scotch, Zwirn, Miller, Hegland, Johnson and Song. Members Absent: None. Also Present: Community Development Director Ericson ________________________________________________________________________ Index to Minutes Page Election of Officers 2 Consideration of a Request to Restrict Parking Along the East Side of Greenfield Avenue South of County Road I 2 ______________________________________________________________________________ 3. Approve Minutes a. December 4, 2002 MOTION/SECOND: Miller/Zwirn. To Approve the Minutes of the Planning Commission for December 4, 2002 as Presented. Ayes – 7 Nays – 0 Motion carried. ______________________________________________________________________________ Mounds View Planning Commission January 8, 2003 Regular Meeting Page 2 ________________________________________________________________________ 4. Citizens Requests and Comments on Items Not on the Agenda None. __________________________________________________________________________ 5. Election of Officers Community Development Director Ericson indicated that according to the bylaws of the Commission, the Chairperson is to request nominations for chair and vice chair. MOTION/SECOND: Miller/Scotch. To Nominate and elect Gary Stevenson as Chair of the Planning Commission. Ayes – 7 Nays – 0 Motion carried. MOTION/SECOND: Johnson/Stevenson. To Nominate and elect Jean Miller as Vice Chair of the Planning Commission. Ayes – 7 Nays – 0 Motion carried. ______________________________________________________________________________ 6. Consideration of a Request to Restrict Parking Along the East Side of Greenfield Avenue South of County Road I. Community Development Director Ericson indicated that he had spoken to Mr. Farrell concerning the parking issue and Mr. Farrell has offered to add four additional spaces on site but that would require a revision to the variance to allow encroachment into the Greenfield right-of- way to gain the additional spots. He then indicated that revision of the variance along with a development agreement and a limited use agreement for parking in the right of way would need to be drafted and executed. Director Ericson indicated that Staff looked at the parking at Sam’s and Sam’s is either short of parking or at the minimum so there is not an option to lease spaces from them. Additionally, the property owner was not interested in leasing parking. Director Ericson indicated that Mr. Farrell has indicated he would add four stalls to bring him up to the 19 that would have been required but would like the Commission to agree not to post no parking signs on the street if he adds the parking stalls. He then said that the City would enter into a development agreement with Mr. Farrell binding him to providing the four spots when the asphalt plants open. Commissioners agreed that it was worth checking into the logistics of adding the four stalls to the site. Mounds View Planning Commission January 8, 2003 Regular Meeting Page 3 ________________________________________________________________________ Director Ericson indicated he would consult the City’s engineer as well as public works to see if there are any issues to be aware of with utilities. Commissioner Zwirn indicated he was not willing to give up the right to deny parking on the east side of Greenfield as he lives next door to the property and is not sure how the property owner could get the extra stalls without completely losing the green space. Director Ericson agreed that bringing the parking lot all the way out to the street would make it look a little overwhelming. Commissioner Johnson suggested utilizing the recommendation of the police from the last meeting to post a certain number of feet from the stop sign. He then said he has an issue with a property owner who purchases a building knowing he has 16 employees as well as an intention to rent out to other businesses. It should have been apparent that there would be an issue with parking and he should not have assumed that his business parking could be accommodated on the street. Director Ericson indicated Staff would go out to the site and do the measurements to see if it is feasible to add the stalls. He then said that there would need to be a minimum of 18 feet plus green space to make it work. He further indicated that Staff would provide the necessary documentation for Commission review at the next meeting. Commissioner Hegland indicated he would like to see a plan before voting on the matter. Director Ericson indicated he would provide a drawing of the proposed stalls so that the Commission could visualize the site. Commissioner Hegland commented that he thinks the property owner is over utilizing the space and he is not sure the City should allow that to continue by amending the variance and allowing additional parking. Commissioner Johnson commented that the business owner should have known how many spaces he would need based on his intentions for the building. Director Ericson asked for clarification of Commissioner Hegland’s comments concerning not amending the variance. The Commission indicated it would like to see the proposal for the solution before deciding whether to allow an amendment to the variance. Commissioner Johnson indicated he was not pleased with the comments of the property owner at the last meeting indicating that the City was trying to run new businesses out of Mounds View. He further commented that he is one Commissioner who does a lot for businesses in Mounds View and he takes exception to that comment. Mounds View Planning Commission January 8, 2003 Regular Meeting Page 4 ________________________________________________________________________ Commissioner Zwirn indicated he had not said much during the discussions because he has other issues with Mr. Farrell. He then said that Mr. Farrell has a lot of flowery things to say about working with the City but he has found that not to be true. He further commented that there are other issues such as the building not being maintained and those issues are not addressed though the property owner makes representations that he will resolve the issues. Commissioner Johnson indicated that is why he wants the development agreement and resolution for no parking if the additional spots do not work. Commissioner Zwirn indicated the State Farm office has two vehicles, the title company utilizes two or three spots and the property owner drives separately from his wife using two stalls and his business has sixteen employees. He then said that parking on the street is detrimental to him entering and exiting his driveway during the day as traffic flow has to stop because two cars cannot get through if there are vehicles parked on the east side of Greenfield. He further indicated that the neighbor to the south has issues getting in and out of the driveway as well. Commissioner Miller asked if any of the traffic could be attributed to the apartments. Commissioner Zwirn indicated that the vast majority of the vehicles are people going into the business property. He then said that rarely on weekends are there vehicles that park on the street but the police usually tag the vehicles so parking is controlled on weekends. Commissioner Hegland said he felt there should be other solutions to the situation such as limiting the number of employees at the facility at any one time and he has not heard any other solutions from the property owner. Director Ericson commented that, if street parking were eliminated, the property owner would be forced to be more proactive in working on a solution. Commissioner Johnson commented that in past years business owners were required to come before Council for a permit for their businesses and, if that practice were still in effect, this type of situation would not happen. ______________________________________________________________________________ 7. Next Planning Commission Meeting: January 22, 2003 ______________________________________________________________________________ Mounds View Planning Commission January 8, 2003 Regular Meeting Page 5 ________________________________________________________________________ 8. Adjournment to Agenda Session There being no further business before the Planning Commission, Chair Stevenson adjourned the meeting at 7:22 p.m. (The meeting immediately adjourned to the Agenda Session) Respectfully submitted, Jim Ericson Community Development Director Transcribed by: Joan Lenzmeier TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc.